Day 6 | Rotorua, New Zealand

We left Auckland dark and early in the morning at 6am to head to Rotorua, a town a 3 1/2 hour drive away to go to the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland. This was still Dad’s second day driving on the opposite side of the road, so the ride was a little bumpy and windy. The view was phenomenal (sunrise) along with the many sheep we saw along the way.

We arrived at Wai-O-Tapu just in time for the Lady Knox Geyser demonstration. Apparently, “Lady Knox” has nothing to do with the geyser itself…she just felt like naming it after herself. It happened (insert however long ago) when the Maori people were washing their clothes by the creek, and one of them was dumping soap in the geyser hole. Soon after, it started bubbling, and it wasn’t long before until the geyser shot up 50 meters. The park tour guide did a demonstration with a pack of ‘environmentally safe’ soap.

Afterwards, we walked to the park where there were 3 trails, color coded and separated by distance. The entire loop took about an hour and half, give or take 30 minutes for photo stops. To me, the entire place smelled like rotten eggs + burnt popcorn…not the best kitchen aroma one can give.

I won’t walk you through all 25 spots, but I’ll walk you through some of my favorites (no filter!) 🙂

 

This is stop #5, also the “Artist’s Palette” All these different colors signify a different chemical.

Stop #21: Champagne Pool! This is everywhere all over “must-see” of New Zealand and Pinterest, and of course, we had to go! I couldn’t figure out why it was so…smoky, and it only got worse throughout the day because we came back at the end of our walk, and it was even more covered.

Devil’s Bath – this was…oddly breathtaking. The entire was a mixture of a lime green version of the corn starch we used to play with in elementary school. The picture does not do it justice! This was the last stop on our route.

Ended the day at Pig & Whistle and had the BEST seafood clam chowder I’ve had in my life. That was a great prelude to a 2 hour nap on the way home ^_^

Day 4 & 5 | Auckland, New Zealand

After three days in Tahiti, we decided to trade in paradise for a bit cooler weather. We landed in Auckland, essentially skipped 23 hours ahead and straight into a typhoon. Oh, and then there was the getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road…

During the three days, we stayed with my mom’s college friend and her maid of honor. She and her husband picked us up met us at the airport and took us to eat Chinese noodles (yay Auckland!) before heading to One Tree Hill. To me, it was the Twin Peaks (SF) of Auckland. Sadly, the rain was already hitting and we were being blown away at the top of the mountain. Nevertheless, checked off the bucket list.

Then, we met one of Dad’s past colleagues from China, and his family invited us to eat with them in SkyCity (the sky tower in the middle of downtown). The SkyCity had a bunch of restaurants on the 1st-3rd floor and the Orbit 360 dining at the top; I particularly enjoyed stir fry lamb and the firecracker prawns. We were just making up for the lack of Asian food from Tahiti, heh.

Afterwards, we walked on Queens St., where most of the things were ‘happening,’ but it just seemed like everything was closed by 9pm and no one was really out and about like they were supposed to be…

Our second day in Auckland was brightened by a few hours of sunshine. We woke up early to steady rain and marmite for breakfast. WOW. I don’t know that I have words to describe it…but you’re supposed to put it on toast, and it’s pretty similar to Australia’s Vegemite.

We were able to locals and do some grocery shopping with the family and have lunch at home. Before that, we went house hunting (for fun) with the family! They took us to Long Bay, where a new subdivision of houses were being built / ready to be designed. I’m a huge fan of the glass balcony stuff! Here are some pictures in case anyone feels like investing in a million dollar home in Auckland…

Everything is measured in KG and that threw me off! The fruits and vegetables were super colorful, and the seafood/meats were extremely fresh. The lunch menu included fresh mussels, salmon sashimi, tomato and egg, and bak choy.

By mid-afternoon, the sun was out and we headed to Devonport, the small town across the bay. The views are incredible, and the grass is lush, and the waters were so blue! The little town had a European boardwalk vibe and I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon before the clouds and rain came back.

We finished the day by having some steak, Blue Cod, and red wine at home before calling it early for a 5am wake up tomorrow for Rotorua!